PSI
...medical personnel to birth control – given their limited numbers and more pressing health concerns. · There appears to be a growing concern in the country and the world about population growth. [In the third section, you should outline the main alternatives you considered but did not choose. You could have 1-2, but 2 alternatives would be preferred. You should list the pros and cons of each alternative. The depth of your analysis (ie., the pros and cons) provides a major indicator of the quality of your case brief. Obviously better case briefs include more detail and insight in this analytical stage. A major source of point deductions tends to come in this area. Also, be sure that your description of your alternative is detailed enough so it can be understood. The examples here are concise, but clear to a reader of the case. Another issue here is to be sure that the alternatives address the problem statement issue. This problem statement mentions that they need a marketing plan – so the alternatives and later the recommendation should be sure to have something along those lines.] Alternatives: Option One: Mass Consumer Education Program for Maya This program would include marketing communications targeted at the women. Mass communications methods (advertising primarily) would be used. The product, channels, and pricing would remain the same. PROS CONS · Leverages Maya’s public brand awareness, promotes positive public image · Direct channel to consumer, drives preference from purchasers · Easy to sell to USAID and Bangladesh government, similar mass market strategy diverts funds to consumer education · Requires little pricing or distribution realignment · Fails to segment market, mass marketing has been previously ineffective· Ignores medical channel influence, fails to elevate brand image in medical community· Does not consider customer’s inability to select product off shelf· Provides no measurable proof of concept, in terms of zero population growth or increased sales potential· Does not solve pricing/distribution issues Option Two: Renaming, Repricing and Distribution Realignment “Start from scratch,” create enhanced value proposition, rename product with an English sounding name and reposition in market emphasizing quality, increase pricing and utilize direct sales force to target key channel influencers. PROS CONS · Ability to start with a clean slate, refocus marketing efforts in a new direction· Direct channel to medical community, drives preference from influencers to consumer· Alleviates image problems in medical community· Increased price allows for greater margins, may make distribution more attractive · Very expensive and time consuming· Requires product repackaging effort· Lose public brand awareness· Very difficult sell to USAID and Bangladesh government, no solid proof of enhanced performance against goals· Requires sales force re-education, or possibly new hires, long ramp-up time· May alienate existing wholesaler network· Does not consider existing pharmacy/ pharmaceutical arrangements· Consumers may be price sensitive Recommendation [The recommendation may be a little more detailed in explanation than the alternatives. Once again the pros and cons provide a major source of our evaluation of the case briefs. While there is no one correct answer – no magic right recommendation – there are recommendations (even good ones) that lose points because the justification is weak. Also, no matter what the implementation plan it must have some weaknesses – these “cons” should be explicitly recognized, too.] After review of the market dynamics, competitive landscape and core product/company competencies, I recommend the following strategy: · Maintain existing brand name and packaging · Shift consumer advertising strategy to a segmented educational strategy that targets rural users · Reposition Maya in medical community to clearly emphasize value and quality - Deploy educational campaign to key market influencers (RMPs and doctors) - Deploy inside sales hotline to answer medical questions - Provide financial incentives to RMPs for recommending and distributing product · Raise price to increase margins in wholesale, retail and medical networks, yet maintain a lower price than competitive products and keeping within reach of public PROS CONS · Preserves many core strengths of existing market strategy:- Public brand recognition and identity- Widespread availability- Distribution network- Continued public communications· Alleviates image problems in medical community and drives preference· Rewards RMPs for distribution· Increased price allows for greater margins, may make retail distribution more attractive · Supports USAID and Bangladesh government’s financial goals and zero population strategy · Must overcome preconceived notions to reposition product in market- Product quality documentation and consumer education is required· Must overcome internal bias against RMPs must overcome preconceived notions in medical community· Consumer may be price sensitive, but this is not indicated in assessment of competitive pricing· Increased sales will result in increased losses (because of subsidization) – we will need more funding from USAID· Requires proof of concept to sell organizations (Exhibit 3 Strategy Justification) Implementation Plan The implementation plan shown here includes all the elements necessary for full credit in this section. There should be a budget and timeline for accomplishing the key activities – all case briefs must include this information. I like how this brief includes specific performance metrics and outlines the different audiences – there are extras that may differ depending upon the recommendations. Where possible, the implementation plan should try to explicitly address or at least reduce the impact of some of the “Cons” with the recommendation. For example, Exhibit 3 is used to offset concerns about proving the concept. This implementation plan might have also included a plan to monitor price sensitivity early on during adoption to offset that “con.” Please note that one weakness of this case brief is a lack of detail in the Implementation Plan. If possible, I would like to see a bit more detail. The following details the implementation strategy, budget, timeline and performance metrics: Target Audience/Goal Strategy Elements Budget Timeline Metrics Project Council/ USAID/Bangladesh Government· Strategy Acceptance· Increased investment 1. Conceptual and Financial Justification (see Exhibit 2)2. Need additional funding from USAID N/A Complete- ramp up to take 3 months · Agreement to begin ramp up process in Q1 Medical Community· Education· Preference 1. Clinical Case Studies2. Product Brochure3. Product Hotline/Sales Training $25,000$20,000$30,000 Q1-Q2 · 5% increase in product referral· 90% customer retention rate· 50% increase in Q2 Maya sales Rural Consumer· Education· Preference 1. Clinical Case Studies2. Public Relations3. Radio Messaging4. Rural Seminars, (field workers and volunteer organizations5. Point of Purchase N/A$10,000$40,000$45,000$30,000 Q3-Q4 · 75% increase in Q3-Q4 sales· 25% growth years 2-5 Our goal is to first ramp up internally, educating the sales force and internal support teams in Q1. We will follow this with an educational campaign in Q2 aimed at the medical community and volunteer organizations to increase acceptance of the product in this channel. And finally, we will go after the end consumer to exert some backward pressure on the medical community. For this case, I have included three different Exhibits which provide some supplemental analysis. We will look at this type of information and judge whether it provides something more than a repeat of information already in the case. Sometimes repackaging...